Weakness
by Pureblood-Slytherins
Summary: Any commander must face his or her feelings. Set during "Treason", chapter 15. Implied Thrawn/Faro.


A/N: This is a translation of Weak Point/Słaby punkt by coffeeberry

**Weakness**

He said he had done it to prevent the project from turning into a total disaster and, for a moment, he had even believed it himself. Ar'alani, however, knew better. Right from the beginning, she had known why he had given the order to _kill them all_.

Thrawn couldn't stand the thought that something could happen to Commodore Faro. And when he had seen the detonator in the hand of one of the Grysks' prisoners, he hadn't hesitated and ordered to eliminate the threat. The stakes had been too high and he couldn't risk his subordinate's life. He couldn't lose her.

None of his men had died. Which, for sure, could be regarded as success. But, truth to be told, this mission hadn't gained them anything, except the grim awareness that their enemy was cunning and definitely didn't play fair. They made their _enemies _fight and die for them, they used them to ensure their victory. There had been no other way - they had had to get rid of those _prisoners_.

"Mitth'raw'nuruodo, has it occurred to you that they simply might have preferred death to another kind of slavery?" Ar'alani asked. "That they might not have believed in the sincerity of an Imperial promise of freedom?"

"It does not matter," Thrawn said.

Before his inner eye, the image of enslaved Wookiees on an Imperial delivery ferry suddenly appeared. Living goods, _slaves..._

"They could have fired at the shuttle while the Commodore was still on board, but decided to meet her face to face," he explained. "Then they wanted to blow up the ship on which the peace negotiations were held. That tells us a lot about them."

"As does the fact that immediately after you guaranteed their safety, you ordered to carry out a mass execution." Ar'alani said and then was quiet for a moment, lost in thoughts. "I'm not saying you were wrong in your judgment. However, I believe that you reacted emotionally, for a reason we both know."

_Faro._

"Allowing my second in command to lead the assault squad in person may have been a mistake," Thrawn said, "but it was quickly corrected. Thanks to the commitment of Commodore Faro there were no losses on our part. The opponent agreed to this meeting, and in trying to deceive us, he proved that any negotiations with the Grysks are a waste of time."

"Only a few people know that you gave that order," said Ar'alani, "and I bet none of them will question it or write about it in their reports. Soldiers believe in the wisdom of their commanders. Your people undoubtedly believe that this action was necessary and they probably interpret this slaughter as an act of self-defence.

"And how would you interpret it?"

"As a pre-emptive strike," she replied harshly. "And foul play."

"And yet it was the right thing to do."

"Would you have done the same if someone else would have been in charge of this operation?"

"Yes, I would."

Ar'alani studied him carefully.

"Yes, you probably would have" she repeated then, clear dissatisfaction in her voice. "This is not the first time I've seen you put people in danger, risking the lives of people that work for you, people you care for. I'm not at all surprised you allowed Commodore Faro to perform this operation. But I was surprised by something else."

Thrawn waited patiently for a few seconds, allowing the Chiss Admiral, after a moment of eloquent silence, to finish her musings.

"You see, the insubordination of Commodore Faro reminded me of the behaviour of one of my former commanders," said Ar'alani. "_I _did not tolerate this type of attitude, although, as I can see now, my actions did not bear fruit."

The Grand Admiral raised an eyebrow.

"In my opinion, it was a valuable experience for Commodore Faro" he explained. "Instead of immediately denying her initiative and prohibiting her from leaving the Chimaera, I preferred to let her try, under controlled conditions. A commander should always be ready to lead soldiers into battle. That is, after all, what I was taught in the Chiss fleet."

"Under _controlled conditions_?" Once again, he heard disapproval, and even a hint of irony, in his former superior's voice. "You were never in control of the situation, Mitth'raw'nuruodo. You know that as well as I do, but you're fooling yourself by thinking that a videocamera and speakers, enable you to properly assess the situation and that by keeping in touch with the assault squad and your Commodore, you can intervene before it gets ugly."

"If I remember correctly, I did just that." He said, almost annoyed.

"I watched you," said Ar'alani. "I saw you getting nervous when you couldn't see what was going on. All it took was for your subordinate to forget to turn on the helmet camera and you were already worried about her. And you didn't want her to get too close to the prisoners. Not to mention that you ordered them to be shot when you saw that they could be a threat to her."

She sighed loudly.

"You sent Lieutenant Vanto on a dangerous mission with little support, believing he would do well," she continued "and you haven't tried to contact him once. But as soon as Commodore Faro left the Chimaera, you put on an earphone, shared your insights with her, translated Meese Caulf for her…."

"It was necessary for Commodore Faro to understand what was going on around her."

"And before that, on the bridge? You won't fool me, Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Your subordinate didn't need to know what you and I were talking about. You wanted her to know because you…. trust her."

"I do. And therefore, I also allowed her to conduct this rescue mission on her own."

"You treat her better than the rest of your crew."

He, again, raised an eyebrow when he heard the words leaving her mouth. _Did he really do that? Treating her "better" than the rest? If so, he hadn't noticed. He definitely demanded more of her than from the rest._

"The problem is not that you are allowing her such dangerous tasks," Ar'alani said, "but what happens in your head. I know how you feel because I feel the same way when I risk Vah'nya's health or life. This is in no way helping us to do our work."

Thrawn looked at her with new interest.

"Navigator Vah'nya has unique abilities. Her death would be an irreparable loss to the Ascendancy," he said in a neutral tone.

His interlocutor smiled slightly.

"You think that's the only reason I care about her? No. Vah'nya and I have a strong emotional bond. She has been on my ship for a long time, as the fact that her abilities did not disappear over time, allowed me to keep her. And now this makes me protect her from those who might use her and abilities for their own purposes…. And how could I not? I've raised her…. I've trained her…"

Suddenly the Chiss Admiral looked sad.

"Each of us has a weakness. If the enemy discovers it, we'll lose."

She looked at Thrawn.

"Could you bear the thought that you yourself might be the end of your Commodore?"

He didn't say a word.

"I hope the Grysks don't get any footage of this execution," Ar'alani said. "I hope they don't hear your anger and your fear when it comes to Commodore Faro because they might recognise your weakness - and use it against you."

He had only smiled then.

He later remembered Ar'alani's words when he stood next to Grand Admiral Savit and watched the Chimaera and Commodore Faro engage the enemy. Yes, he felt the familiar pressure inside again. But this time he was calmed by the thought that he had planned every detail of this battle, even the smallest. Nothing could happen to the Chimaera, its crew and Commodore Faro. Especially her.

**THE END**


End file.
